Scavanger Hunt
by VanG Ziggy ZA
Summary: A few months after the movie, A chipmunk adventure. Alvin still has not learned his lesson. This time, not only are the Munks and Chipettes in trouble, but also four of their human friends! I Dont update fast, but don't worry, I'll get more to this soon.
1. A new babysitter

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SCAVANGER HUNT

Ziggy's Corner: I've been a fan of the Munks since I was eight and they came on NBC Saturday morning cartoons, back in the eighties. I had long wished to see their movie, but unfortunately I had to have my tonsils taken out when it was in the theater. Well thankfully that's what DVD's are for! Anyway this story is a sequel the Chipmunk Adventure. It takes place eight months after the movie ends, and both Alvin and Brittany have an even bigger prize than one hundred thousand bucks flashed before them, and before you can say, "Are you out of your mind?" they drag their siblings along for the ride, along with four of their classmates.

"Dave, please… I wanna go along," Alvin whined, trailing his father.

David Seville frowned, and turned with a sigh to look at the oldest of his sons. "Let's not go through this again, Alvin. This is another important business trip… and,"

"Its just not feasible for you to take us along," Alvin moaned.

"That's right. Besides, you've been to New York before." David marched into his room, scanning it for any bags he might have left behind. "And I'll only be gone for two weeks."

"But that's practically forever, and I haven't seen all of New York, there are museums, and Broadway and…,"

"Alvin," David said, is tone warning that he had had enough. He grabbed his bags, and hurried toward the front door, this time he was positive he wasn't going to make the taxi late, like he had when he went to Europe.

"Dave, um," Simon examined his father, pushing his glasses back against his face. The young chipmunk blushed and nodded towards his father's legs.

David looked down and gasped, seeing only boxers where his pants should have been, "Oh, uh… thanks, Simon." He dropped his bags, hurried to his room, and quickly put on a pair of pants, and hurried down the stairs, just as the taxi pulled up.

"Okay guys, now look, the babysitter will be here in a few minutes. Until then, Simon you're in charge and…," Dave blinked, looking around the house. "Alvin?" Simon pointed at a buldging suit case, which caused Dave to growl, flipping the case open. There sat Alvin, chuckling nervously, nestled in a pile of his father's underpants. "Out!" David snapped, pointing towards the boys' room. His eldest grumbled and sulked away.

"Don't worry, Dave," Simon said, hurrying his father out of the house. "We'll take care of everything." Simon and Theodore waved at their father, as David got into the taxi, and pulled away. Once the taxi was out of sight, the boys went into the house, and closed the door.

"It is so not fair," Alvin said, storming out of his room, his eyes blazing. "Its not as if we're any trouble, Dave acts as if he doesn't trust us for some reason."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Oh gee, I wonder why?" He didn't bother to stay around to hear a retort. "I'm going to go and study for the test next week." He stopped on the fourth step as the doorbell rang. "Oh, that must be the new babysitter."

"What happened to Ms. Miller?" Theodore asked, taking a big bite of Lucky Charms.

"After the stunt Alvin pulled a few months ago, Dave thought it best to get someone who was really going to keep a sharp eye on him," Simon said, walking to the large white door, and twisting the knob. The door opened, and a tall, beautiful, young woman looked down on him, smiling. Simon felt his pulse race and he began to sweat.

"Well, you must be Simon," she chuckled. She hade short, blonde hair, and soft brown eyes. "I'm Clair, can I come in?" The blue shirted chipmunk gulped and took a step back, smiling oddly and letting the young woman come in.

Once the other boys had seen her, there was a similar reaction from them as well. Alvin completely forgot being left behind by Dave, and rushed forward, introducing himself to her. "You're hot," he said with a big grin.

"Alvin," Simon snapped, blushing. Clair's laugh only made him blush even more, and he turned his back on them.

"Well, thank you," she said. She kissed the chipmunk's cheek, and giggled as he blushed. "Dave asked me to keep an eye you three while he was away. Now I hope you won't be too much trouble, will you?"

"No way," the boys said in unison.

Clair giggled again and looked around the house. It was obviously an all male house. It was kept up neat to a point, but the few tidbits of clothing and newspapers, with some sheet music here and there, showed that there wasn't a woman anywhere here. "Well, I guess I'll unpack my things, and then we can start by picking up the house."

Alvin blinked for a moment, and took a step back, "Um… what?"

"Well, I'm not a servant or a maid. I'm going to need help and this _is_ your house, you have a responsibility to take care of it too." She smiled, and mentally kept an eye on the red clothed chipmunk as he seemed to begin to pout.

"Okay," he grumbled, and turned to the living room.

"But first, I think you guys have homework to do," she said, walking to the small guest room." She slipped through the door, leaving the boys to themselves.

"She's a female Dave," Alvin snapped, waving his arms in the arms. He began to storm around the living room. "A hot, female, Dave! He tricked us!"

"Alvin, keep your voice down," Simon snapped. "Look, let's just do our homework, then we can clean up. Besides, there's a movie playing I'd like to see, maybe Clair will let us go once we're done." He smirked at his older brother's face and shrugged. "Lisa Jasman might be there too," he said walking up to their room his back to Alvin." He grinned as Alvin gasped, knowing his brother's crush on the girl. _That should keep him from any _hair_ schemed ideas for a while. And with Clair, at least there's no chance he'll pull the same kind of stunt he did a few months ago._

It was four hours later, and the movie had just ended. Just as he had predicted, Clair was so grateful for having the three boys' help, and the fact that they did their schoolwork without hesitation, that she agreed to drop them off at the movies. And just as he had hoped, Lisa Jasman had indeed come there too. That kept Alvin's attention busy, as he tried to impress the raven haired, brown eyed girl.

Simon sighed, contently. Everything was going right for a change… there was just one thing he'd not counted on, though he should have, and … and she was coming up with her sisters. "Oh great," he muttered, watching Brittany and the Chipettes walking through the lobby. "Please don't let her see him, please don't let her see him," he muttered, eyes turned up to heaven like a puppy dog's.

"Alvin?" the auburn haired chipette asked, stopping in her tracks, a diet soda in her hands.

_Fate is a cruel mistress. _Simon moaned, and leaned against the wall.

"Oh, hey, Brittany," Lisa said, giving the other female a soft smile. "I didn't know you were here."

"Obviously," Brittany said, her eyes never leaving Alvin. "So, what are you doing here, Alvin? I didn't think you'd ever get off of restriction."

"What about you, Brittany?" Alvin snapped. "Ms. Miller was pretty upset too."

"She got over it, after all, it was all your idea," the chipette said, checking out her nails.

"What was all his idea?" Lisa asked, blinking her eyes.

The theater seemed to crash all around him, its bright white walls, mocking Simon now. He looked over, and saw Jeanette copying his actions. That did make him smile for a minute, which made her smile back at him. People were walking past them ignoring the stint between the two rockers, this was, after all, Los Angeles, and anyone who was anyone was used to seeing the Chipmunks around this area. There were a few autograph hounds from tourists, but mostly the people who worked in the theater, as well as their friends tended to keep them at bay.

"They're at it again, huh?" Adam Wallace asked, walking up to see what was going on. Like Simon, he wore large, thick glasses, and was incredibly intelligent. Unlike the chipmunk, he was a bit stocky, like Theodore was, and had flaming red, curly hair. The ten year old boy looked as Alvin and Brittany stood, staring each other down, and turned his attention to Jeanette, smiling at her, blushing as she returned the smile. Jeanette, a third thing the two ten year olds had in common.

"I'm afraid so," Simon moaned.

"I still want to know what was all his idea," Lisa asked, with a weird smile.

"Their trip around the world," Adam said. "Simon told me all about it."

"That's right, I solved a diamond smuggling case, all by myself," Alvin said with pride beaming in each and every word. He opened his eyes, gleaming as the young human girl gasped and clasped her hands together.

"Oh, please," Simon croaked.

"Get over yourself, Mr. Macho man," Brittany snapped. "We were there too, and in fact, if anyone should get credit for solving the case, it should be me and my sisters, we're the one's who discovered the dolls we were given had diamonds and money in them first. You guys wouldn't have known anything, if we hadn't rescued you from those natives."

Alvin turned on his heels, glaring at the female chipmunk. "We didn't need any saving, we were doing just find before you girls showed up."

"Yeah, I'm sure those nice, native guys would have let us go once the alligator's had eaten the Prince of Plenty guy," Theodore said cheerfully. He and Eleanor were busy finishing off a big bucket of pop corn.

"You were the Prince of Plenty, Theodore," Simon said with a sigh.

"Oh, yeah right!" the youngest of the boys said with a smile.

"Yeah, you were doing great, the bouncing around you were doing, definitely made it easy to attract all those alligators, didn't it? Was that your big plan?" Brittany said with a smile. Alvin blushed and turned away.

The sun was starting to set now, and people began to flow out of the building, like drones walking home to become recharged again. Still, there was no sign of Clair, and she did instruct the boys, that if she wasn't there at a certain time, they should walk home. It wasn't too big a deal, it was only three or four blocks away, and walking in a group made it safer. Of course that meant that there would be more drama too.

"We won anyway," Brittany snapped.

"You did not," Alvin growled.

"Oh? Whose hot air balloon came home, and whose didn't?" she mocked.

"That doesn't mean anything," Alvin growled.

"You guys rode in hot air balloons? That's so cool!" Lisa blinked, watching the two of them. "And solving a crime, wow!"

"You've got her going, it sounds like," Marie Wallace said, finally happy to have found her brother, Adam. Marie also had glasses, was slightly shorter than her brother, despite being one year older than him. She had auburn hairs of curls, and was dressed in a blue gray sweater. "We've got to be getting home though," she said. She looked at her watch and nudged her brother forward.

"We do too," Simon said, pushing himself between Alvin and Brittany.

"We actually do too," Eleanor said. She slunk out of her chair and made her way into the crowd. "Maybe we should all just walk together. We all live near each other."

"Fine by me," Adam said, giving a second glance at Jeanette. His sister elbowed him, bringing him out of his dreams.

Lisa giggled and grabbed her purse. "Sounds like fun. I'll come too."

Twin pairs of eyes watched the kids go. "Those are the brats that brought down Claudia and Claus?" a man asked.

"That's what I read in the papers," a woman said. "It cost the syndicate millions of dollars."

The man glared at the kids. "We'll make up for it, and get some revenge as well." He smiled, a dark, cruel, predatory smile.

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Ziggy's Corner: Part one ends. And the kids are going to be in greater adventures as well as greater dangers in the coming chapter. Up next: The Wager!


	2. The Wager

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Ziggy's Corner: chapter two, The Wager. I do want to point out, to the more knowledgeable Munk fans, that it does indeed appear that the girls did NOT yet live with Ms. Miller during the events of the movie, and thus, would not TECHNICALLY get into trouble with her as the boys did with Dave. One point a purist might make to this, is that if the girls had lived with Ms. Miller, why did they not travel with her to stay at the Seville place at the beginning of the movie? Since they didn't, it could be strongly assumed, that during the film, they were still living in their plush tree. Also, it could be pointed out, that why was she not concerned with their disappearance for so long, if they were living with her at this point? So there is that, no need to tell me I have to get my facts straight on that, lol. Okay, now that, that is out of the way, on with chapter two!

They walked for two blocks before a black car pulled up, and a man with bright blonde hair, along with a woman with raven black hair and blue eyes got out. They smiled at the children, who backed up, watching each other and then back at the adults. The kids quivered, they're eyes wide.

"I thought the six of you looked familiar," the woman said looking at the two music groups. She smiled, causing the children to shiver.

"We're not really supposed to talk to strangers," Lisa said. "I don't think our parents would be happy about that." The woman looked at her for a moment, as if realizing that she, and two other human children were there also for the first time. Her frown made Lisa give a little eeping noise and edge further into the group.

"A good rule to adhere too," the man said, his voice thick with a European accent. "But there is a bit of business to talk about, something to help each your families out."

"What are you talking about?" Brittany asked.

"I'm speaking about a contest, a little game," the man said. The children looked around the streets, hoping that there might be help coming. Cars were driving by and going away just as quickly. If help was going to come, it wouldn't be by the people on the road. "Let me introduce myself…"

"No thank you," Simon said, urging the kids away.

"Let me finish," the man snapped. The kids jumped, and might have taken off, had not three guards slipped out of the car and watched the scene. "I am Baron Eric Von Straugton, and this is my wife, Alicia." The woman bowed and smiled.

"There is no need to fear us," Alicia said with a smile. "They're harmless, just making sure we aren't swamped by autograph hounds."

"Yeah, that's what it looks like they're used to doing," Simon said, slipping further from the adults.

"What kind of fans do you have?" Adam asked quickly. "The mutant body building kind?"

The adults looked at the boy, and he turned his head to his feet. The baron turned to the Chipmunks and Chipettes. "What we are proposing is a race of sorts. My wife and I heard you children talking about your adventure around the world, and how it seemed to be unresolved."

"We'd like to see who would actually win such a contest," Alicia said.

"We've been down that road before," Jeanette said.

"So we have heard, but we promise this is on the up, and up," the baron said.

"The answer, is still no," Simon said. The children began inching their way past the two adults and their guards, the chill in the air stronger than anything the Chipettes' had encountered in the Artic.

"Not even with a reward of five million dollars?" Alicia asked. She smiled, the chipmunk in red, the young auburn female chipmunk, and one of the human girls stalled, and turned back.

"How much?" Marie asked slowly, almost as if she were a machine programmed to say each word per every five minutes.

"Not enough for me to be interested," Adam said, snatching his older sister's sleeve and yanking her back toward the group.

"Stop and think about this," the baron called, a desperate shudder attacking his frame. "We are giving you Chipmunks and Chipettes a chance to finish that competition you were so rudely interrupted from, and legitimately this time. And we're willing to pay you a much more handsome sum of money for the win!"

"Very handsome," Brittany said with a dreamy look in her eyes. Her sisters' voices snapped her name in unison, snapping her out of her dreams.

"Are you serious?" Alvin was harder to break from his enthusiasm. He was practically shaking with the thought of what he could so with so much money. And the fact that he would be able to show up Brittany and show of to Lisa would be a bonus. "What do we have to do?"

"Nothing, because we're not agreeing to anything they ask," Simon growled.

"Yeah, yeah," his older brother said, waving off his book smart sibling. "But out of curiosity, what would we have to do?"

The husband and wife looked at each other and smiled. They truly had hoped only to drag the hybrid animals into this affair, not any other child, but the events lead them down the road they were on now. And three voices encouraging a group were stronger than two. "Its not really a world affair," Alicia said. "Just a trip around the country, perhaps with a stop or two in Canada and Mexico as well."

Alvin's excitement lessened, but only just barely. After all he had seen the world only recently, so that wasn't too bad. "Okay," he said, goading them to continue.

"The contest we propose is that two teams, one of boys, and one of girls, will race around the three countries, looking for certain items, a scavenger hunt," the count said. The team who brings back all of the items on their list, or at the very least, the most wins the five million dollars."

"Just to be fair, there are five girls here, so the boys will be allowed to recruit another member, and each member of the team gets a million dollars for his or her own," his wife added, running her fingers through her hair.

"And what's the point of all of this?" Simon asked, crossing his arms. It was going to be useless to drag Alvin away from such a promise of 'easy' wealth, not to mention the excitement he could see in the eyes of Brittany and Marie. He had a very bad feeling about this, and his guard hadn't dropped one bit. A few of the other's had, he could tell, just by watching their bodies. But if he was reading this situation right, even if they completely turned down the adults' offer, and he'd make sure he would do everything he could to do just that, the group wouldn't be in danger of being attacked. At least not here. The minutes that were passing away were guaranteeing that more drivers were slowing down and keeping an eye on the situation, something he knew the count and his wife were aware of as well.

"We've told you, we just felt bad you were ripped off the chance for a fair finish of your race," Alicia said, her eyes flashing. All eyes were on Simon, and she sighed. "I will be honest, I intend to sponsor the girls and my husband, the boys. We are very close in marriage, but to be honest rivals in business, and the hunt will bring us more interest in clients." She smiled. "Who better to be billboards than a famous rock group or two?"

"And for your classmates, what more of a thrill, than to be part of such an enterprise, and be paid for it as well?" Baron Von Straugton said with a wink.

The sky was now almost completely dark. Whenever the kids finally all got home, there would be no doubt a few harsh words from the adults in charge of raising or watching over them. The smell of soft pine and oak trees filled the sky, and they could hear people talking and walking through the streets.

"I don't like it," Adam said, pushing his glasses to their proper place.

"You shouldn't," Simon said. "And we're going to be late." He looked at his watch. "Clair's not going to be happy when we come home late."

"Neither will my mom or dad," Lisa said, squeaking as she realized just how late it had gotten. Her despair of her situation was the much needed punch in the gut Alvin needed to snap him from his dreams.

"Maybe we should be going," he said, looking at the human girl, and smiling. "I'd hate to see poor Lisa get into trouble."

"Oh, I am so sure," Brittany said, glaring at the girl and back at Alvin. The thought of five million dollars, even one million dollars, filled the young Chipette's mind with mansions, parties, fancy wardrobes. However; Ms. Miller's disappointment in her and her sisters' being late also helped snap her out of her dreams completely… at least for now. "To be honest, I don't want to get into trouble either."

The baron and his wife frowned in unison, their heads snapping towards each other as if they had been programs for such an action. Or perhaps it had been rehearsed, to win the sympathy of the children. "I do apologize in keeping you from your curfews," the baron said. "Perhaps if you'd like, we can drive you all home, and explain to your parents?"

"That's definitely not necessary," Simon said, nearly spewing the words from his mouth. The reaction of the other children to his concerned tone, and the offer of the baron's offer brought a look of combined panic and fear from the kids.

Alicia glared at her husband, throwing daggers right at his very soul. "That's a good response, its not smart to accept rides from strangers, however…," she reached into her purse, and pulled out a pen and paper, writing down something, and then tore the page into three pieces, handing each to Alvin, Brittany, and Marie. "… if you are interested in our offer, we'd be thrilled to have you. Please call me by next weekend, and let me know one way or the other." The woman blew a kiss at the children, and she and her husband slipped into their vehicle, along with their guards, and drove off.

The interior of the car was lined with the finest black leather that could be found. The exterior windows were tinted, so no one could see in, but it wasn't a hassle to look out for those inside. A small television slid down and played the latest in the stock market in America and Europe, as classical music filled the passengers compartment. Sitting opposite of her husband, Alicia fingered her hair rapidly. The air in the vehicle was thick, and heavy as her fingers worked. The driver seemed to feel it, and was twitching in his seat, as were the big, bad, guards across from them.

"What was that?!" she snarled, her blue eyes focusing on her husband. "Offering them a ride home?!" Her painted lips snarled, and before he could answer, she turned her head. "We had them, for god's sakes!"

Eric Von Straugton's only reply was a smile. "We still do," he chuckled finally. He picked up a glass of vodka and sipped it. "Alicia, do you really think that any of those children will say anything about strangers offering them a ride home?"

"You are naïve if you think not," she hissed.

"If they were normal, perhaps, but the situation we presented them with is too much like the faced with Claudia and her brother, if the chipmunk, what is his name… Alvin, that's it. If Alvin were to speak up, his father _might_ consider the fact that the boy had agreed to our offer, or at best, be upset that none of the children even left us when they had the chance."

"But the boy's father isn't there at the house, if I understood right, sir," one of the guards spoke out of turn. The baron turned and stared at the much larger man, putting him in his place.

"You must be out of your mind or drunk," she grumbled under her breathe. "Those children, those… freaks, had been kidnapped once, do not forget. If you think they'd hesitate to speak out about a strange man offering them a ride…," she looked at her husband, sighing. "Even if not, the human children might."

"Perhaps, but I think that the girls were very intrigued by the offer. The older one is much like Alvin and the girl chipmunk. She had the eyes of desire, and of adventure. And the other girl wants to experience things past her white picket fences. No, trust me Alicia, the lure of gold and adventure will bring them to us. And, the fear of grounding or any other sort of trouble from their parents will keep them silent… at least long enough that if they did say something, it would be too late."

"What if one of the other children…," she began.

"Alvin, Brittany, and that other girl are headstrong, and willing to bribe or talk their siblings out of doing such a thing." Baron Straugton smiled again, and sipped his drink, his head thrilling with success and Mozart.

"You intentionally said you'd give them a ride, just to alienate them from their parents?" Alicia asked, stroking her chin.

"But of course," he replied with a renewed predatory grin.

"You didn't believe they'd ever accept the offer on face value right away, did you?" she asked, a dark grin spreading across her face. She reached up, and sipped from her own drink.

"Offer a doe a field of grass in the open, during the middle of hunting season, and you lose the doe," he said, his eyes twinkling darkly. "But lead it to patches of grass here and there, until it is out in the open and not away of where its at," he smiled as he put his glass down, and then formed an imaginary gun in his hand. He 'cocked' it, and 'fired', going through the motions. He looked at his wife, and laughed, seeing she understood.

"And my mother was worried when I married you," she laughed. She finished her drink in a long, hard swallow. "You, my dear, are a genius."

His eyes were still hard and dark as he looked at her, "Whatever gave you the impression, dear Alicia, that I was _not_?"

**__**

Okay, this is one of the creepiest scenes I have ever written. And Baron Von Straugton is definitely the creepiest dudes I've ever come up with! Not the most, there are a few more twisted than him. Anyway, chapter three is next, and is entitled, "To Trick a Babysitter."

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	3. To trick a babysitter

_**Ziggy's Corner: To Trick a Babysitter. The third chapter arrives! Yep, you did guess it right, Alvin, Brittany, and Marie did find the offer too much to turn down, so let's see just how they try to go about getting what they need to begin their adventure, as well as just who the fifth boy is that will join the Chipmunk's team.**_

_**_____________________________________________________________**_

"I have long since decided giving up thinking that you are out of your mind," Simon said, watching his brother write ideas down on how to trick Clair into allowing the boys to go on their trip. In the bookworm's hands were a stack of school books, mainly math and science.

"So, then you'll help me," Alvin said, looking up from his plans. His eyes sparkled at the thought of having to do half of the work, or very minimum of it.

"You _are_ out of your mind, Alvin. First off, there's no way I'd help you to deceive Dave, or even Clair, and second off, this is why Dave hired Clair. You're not going to be able to trick her like you did Ms. Miller."

"You have a point, but that's exactly why I'm going through these notes. Everyone's got an Archeles Heel," he said with a smile.

"Achilles Heel," Simon sighed, rolling his eyes. "And that's just another reason why people don't trust you that much."

"I think Clair's a nice lady, she even made me a peanut butter and strawberry sandwich, even though we were late in coming home," Theodore said. The chubby little chipmunk chewed it with gusto, savoring the thickness of the peanut butter mixed with the fruit. His bed was a mess, as the strawberry juice flowed down his cheeks and onto his covers.

"She's going to make you clean that up," Alvin said, watching his brother eat.

"So, I don't mind," Theodore said, his brown fur getting mushy and red as he smacked his lips. He finished his dinner in three bites, and wiped his mouth and his hands. He slipped off his bed, went into their bathroom, and rinsed off his hands and face.

"There's got to be some way for us to get to go." Alvin began pacing back and forth, running his fingers through his hair as he thought.

"Whoever is up there, walking so hard, please keep it down," Clair's voice flowed up into their room.

Alvin sighed, and plopped onto his bed, making the mattress bounce twice before settling down. "It's hopeless, I can't think of anyway to convince her to let us go." Simon smiled and looked up to heaven for thanks for finally reason coming to town. His brother would have none of it. "But we've got to try… Brittany's sure to find a way to go on the trip."

"Alvin, will you get over it," Simon growled, his eyes glaring white. "I've had it with your plans, do you realize how much trouble you can get us into because of everything you've done?"

"I don't see the big problem, I…," Alvin's eyes grew wide, and he smiled, stroking his chin. He walked slowly at first, and then quicker, swiftly existing his bedroom, and right into his father's room. There was no doubt that his brothers would follow him … Simon especially. Then he'd seen the wisdom of his older brother, and they'd get to go on their trip.

As soon as they were all in the room, Alvin slammed the door shut, hard, and latched it. There was a moment of fear that Clair would hear the sound, and investigate, but after holding his breath for a moment or two, he knew he was in the clear. "It has to be in here somewhere," Alvin said, darting to his father's bookshelf and tossing volumes to the floor like a thief looking for the golden tooth hidden in under hundreds of pounds of paperwork.

"What are you doing?" Simon croaked as he held his hand to his chest, his skin paling as he watched his brother work. His eyes increased in size, staring at the mess growing before his feet. "Do you know what kind of mess you're making?" The book worm immediately shot to the ground, scooping up the books.

"Looking for Dave's Senior Yearbook," Alvin said with a crafty smirk. The sly smile grew wider as his eyes caught hold of a dark gray book with a thin spin, hidden far back against the wall. Alvin reached further, caught hold of it with the tips of his fingers, and tugged it out.

"I fail to see how that can help you," Simon said, stacking the books in piles on the floor. He only groaned as his brother winked at him, flipping through the book, until he found the picture he was searching for. "This can't end well," the tall chipmunk groaned.

"I knew it," Alvin said, his voice laced with triumph.

"That it wouldn't end well, or that you need a psychiatrist's help?" Simon asked snidely as he cleaned up the books.

"What is it?" Theodore bounded up to his brother, struggling to crawl up onto his father's bed. Simon simply let loose yet another groan, rolling his eyes, and helped his little brother up, and leaned forward on the other side of Alvin to see what this insanity was all about.

In front of them was the picture of a very young Dave, and three pictures across, and two down was a very young Clair. Both favored the camera with a shy smile, though they could tell she was more confident than he was. Beneath Clair's picture were the words, "Dave, I hope I didn't break your heart at the prom… we can still be friends, right?"

"I knew there was a reason I didn't like her to start with," Alvin snapped.

"Yes, that explains your drooling reaction when she came into the house," Simon said, glaring at his brother.

"That's beside the point," Alvin said. He flipped through a few more pages, and his smile grew darker. "Aha, this is interesting." A picture of Clair and a muscle bound, blonde haired boy took the majority of the page. Below them read, "Dexter Lincoln, and Clair Wilson, Senior Year Prom King and Queen." With a little extra work, they could spot a shot of Dave in the background, his eyes full of hurt.

"Alvin, whatever you're planning…," Simon began to warn.

"Well, she _did_ break his heart, she deserves a little pay back," Alvin said with a sneer. He rushed to his room, before Simon could stop him, and paged through some of his magazines, charging back into Dave's room, just like a flash of lightning. His face was full of amazement, and victory.

"Why do you do this to me?" Simon cried, glaring up at the heavens. "Once, just once I'd just love a normal…"

"Dexter Lincoln, the successful tycoon of Texan Oiler's Hockey team," Alvin began to read in his sports magazine. "This man of mystery has been interviewed many times since his graduation of Yale University. He's been written about in a dozen different national newspapers, but never photographed." He read silently a little more, and smiled, "According to Mr. Lincoln, the only one he'd really be interested in being photographed by his high school sweetheart, Clair Wilson."

"The man is a multimillionaire, whose also an eccentric recluse," Simon said. "Just how do you expect to pull off whatever stunt you're planning?"

"That's easy," Alvin said. As fast as he could, he replaced the books back to where he'd found them to the best of his memory. Then he charged back into their bedroom.

"What's going on up there?" Clair called from downstairs.

"We're sorry, we got a little hyper," Alvin called. "Too much sugar. We'll calm down." He closed the door as quietly as he could, and then grabbed his recorder. Once he did that, he called up their friend, Daniel Grant, and talked to him for a few minutes. Once he got off the phone, he turned to his brothers and smiled.

"This can _not_ possibly end well," Simon muttered.

_________________________________

A multiple of phone calls later, and a mixture of peoples' voices, lead the boys from their house, to the Miller residence after Clair got a call from Dexter, who had inquired if she'd be interested in photographing him for her magazine. Of course it had helped that Daniel was the godson of Mr. Lincoln. Dave seemed hesitant to let her go, but understood what it could do for her career, and also agreed that her taking the boys with her, wouldn't be reasonable.

The boys didn't stay long, as Dave again mysteriously called Miss Miller, and asked for the boys to come to New York to be with him, as he'd gotten them a key act in Yankee Stadium. He "even" got them a limo to take them to the big city.

"You see, it pays to know people, who know really famous people," Alvin said, leaning against the soft, leather couch.

"You do know we're going to get caught again, don't you?" Simon asked, narrowing his eyes at his brother. Alvin chuckled and rubbed an apple on his shirt before taking a bite. "Exactly the reaction, I thought you'd have," he whimpered, slumping further down, his head disappearing beneath the window.

"Relax, Simon," Daniel said. He was eleven, with three inches over the brainiac. His hair was midnight black, and curly, with soft brown skin. His eyes were even brighter brown, and looked almost like a puppy dog's eyes. He wore a light brown shirt, proclaiming his love of the musician, B.B. King, whom he was thrilled was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that same year, and he wore brown gray shorts. "We'll be fine."

"I can't believe Alvin conned you into coming," Adam said with a groan.

"I can't believe that you are so disappointed in getting the chance to have such a cool adventure," the other boy shot back. "I mean, come on, a trip around America, seeing some famous sites, and a scavenger hunt? Its like we're archeologists!" Daniel reached into the refrigerator of the limo, and pulled out a soda, offering some to the other boys. Alvin and Theodore took one, but Simon and Adam did not.

"The stuff makes me pee worse than an injured cat," Adam said.

"Hot cocoa makes you pee worse than an injured cat too," Daniel said with a wink. The boys shared a group chuckle at poor Adam's expense, before the quiet took the group yet again. "How did you, and your sister manage to get your parents to come?"

"Marie told them it was a scouting trip," Adam said, sounding like a boiling tea cup. He rubbed his temples and shifted his weight. "Sometimes I think my parents will believe anything."

They took the time to look out the window as they drove, watching the mansions and rich looking houses melt into decent looking houses, and then to normal houses, before coming to a quaint little manor house nestled neatly next to the mountains. The limo stopped, and the boys got out, taking their luggage with them. They introduced themselves to the guards, who lead them to the backyard, where Eric and his wife were waiting with the girls.

"This feels suspiciously like what happened the last time we did this," Simon muttered.

"Let it go already," Alvin snapped. They walked up to the girls and stood as they waited their instructions. Behind them were two hot air balloons, larger than their last balloons of course, as there were more of them this time. Hired help loaded their luggage into the balloons, as well as papers and passports. Alvin was asked to sign something, and then urged to have his fellow boys sign it too. Simon wanted to read it over, but Alvin never gave him the chance.

"Late again, I see," Brittany teased Alvin. She giggled at his anger, running her fingers through her hair. "Miss Miller of course, let us go to camp, so was no big deal for us to come earlier."

"Yes, every camp is held at a fancy manor by the mountains," Eleanor said, straightening out her dress. Her sister glared at her but she didn't take too much out of it.

Eric and Alicia's back yard was not as massive as Claudia's and Klaus' was. There was no pool, nor fountain. There were no expensive hedge decorations, and only a few trees lined here and there. It _did _look as if you could play tennis on the yard, and perhaps even croquet, and no doubt they did do that. If not for the balloons, it might really have been much smaller, the kids were not really sure.

"You will be using the balloons only for the first three legs of the trip. After that, we have four other paths of transportation for you to take," Eric began, marching in front of the group of children. "A boat, by horse, by bike, and finally, on train." He smiled, and the kids shivered.

"You will start your search in true race fashion, side by side, there will not be any different routes to start off with," Alicia continued. "The balloon and boat portion of the search will be simultaneous paths, the two teams will then break up, one going north and the other south when it comes to the horse portion. Then you will find your bikes in Toronto and Mexico City, respectively. You'll ride them to New York City, and Atlanta, Georgia."

"From there, you will board trains, which will leave those towns, and head back here," Eric finished. "But you must remember, to find everything on your lists, or if you do not… our agents will not provide you with the next transportation you need to continue until you do!"

"If either group decides to forfeit the race, however; they also forfeit their family homes," Eric said with dark determination. Shock ran over the children's faces. "That was what we had you sign. It guarantees that we don't lose anything financially on this matter."

"A mere technicality," Alicia said, walking up and patting Brittany's head. "I'm sure a strong, determined girl like yourself won't allow her team to give up for anything."

"Of course not," Brittany said, her ego growing.

"And of course, this young man here will be sure to bring his unit up to snuff," Eric said, clamping an approving hand on Alvin's shoulder. "He's just brimming with leadership."

"You know it," Alvin said quickly. He smiled, feeling his chest stretch out.

"Wait, I never sighed any papers, so technically I don't have to worry if I back out," Adam said, his skin crawling as he looked around.

"You don't have to, your sister signed up for you," Alicia said. "And even if she didn't, by entering the grounds, you agreed to this contest, and the rules clearly state that even if _one _boy or girl, on either team decides to quit, the whole team loses."

Adam felt his blood run cold, but he knew he was trapped. He could only glare at Marie for being so bold as to sign his name. _If we weren't related by blood, I'd shoot you, tie you to the tracks of a railroad, and then burn you… then shoot you again for good measure. _She cocked her head, seemingly understanding what her younger brother was thinking, and shrugged at him.

The only thing making him brave right now, other than the fear of losing his home, was that he saw Jeanette smile and wave at him. He copied the gesture, seeing Simon do the same. His shoulders slumped, and he inched a little away from the group, sighing. The last thing he wanted to do was compete against his best friend, while they were on the same team.

"Now, that that is settled, I will ask the two teams to enter the balloons," Eric said. The kids were quickly ushered into the balloons, and waited for the whistle. Eric, like Klaus before him, made a waving motion, and the balloons were on their way, as was their challenge.

_**Chapter three is done, and the challenge is on! What will happen, and will the villains do their best to bring down the kids so soon, or let them stew in their juices? Let's find out in… Artifact One: The Golden Locket!**_


	4. The Golden locket

_**Ziggy's Corner: Chapter Four, Balloons 1: The Golden Locket! Let's continue the fun!**_

_**_____________________________________________________________**_

The balloons soared side by side across the empty space as time floated by. It was the fifth hour into the hunt, and both teams were nearing Victorville, California, looking desperately for a place to land. It might have been chaos, as it had been in their first landings a few months ago, had they not had some expertise in using these vehicles.

"The paper says, we need to find a halo of gold, shining in a space with no sound," Alvin said, scratching his head. He cocked his noggin to the left, scrunching up his face. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

Just a few feet away, the girls landed swiftly, and bounded out of their basket, rushing down to main street. Brittany squealed orders at her sisters and her friends, her arms waving like the wings of a mother bird trying to coax her child out of the nest. She turned her head and smirked at the boys, before disappearing around the corner.

"They must know where it is, I say we follow them," Daniel hollered, and rushed after the girls, stopping as Simon grasped at the neck of his shirt, pulling him back. The boy landed on the ground with a thud, and stared at the chipmunk. "What the heck?"

"Easy there, if you looked at the rules here closely, it says that while we're both looking for the same kind of thing, there's more than one in the city."

"Which means that our halo is hidden in a different place than the girls' halo is," Adam said. He ran his fingers through his red hair and looked around. "First we really need to figure out what the halo is."

Alvin laughed, drowned out by a car, speeding past them, and nearly crashing as the occupants did a double take at who it might be that they passed. "Come on, you don't know what a halo is? Obviously we need to go to a church."

"But a halo could be anything," Daniel pointed out. "This clue is like a riddle…"

"That's because it is," Simon interjected.

"Which means the halo could be a symbol of something else," the human boy concluded with a shrug.

"That means it could be anywhere," Theodore gasped, his eyes scanning the city for anything that might be a halo… also for anything restaurant or fast food place that served quick, tasty food. "The last time we went on an adventure, our first place was at a Mexican restaurant," he hinted, his eyes turning into the form of a puppy dog's.

"This isn't Mexico, Theodore," Simon grumbled.

"And we have enough food without paying for more," Adam said with a nod. "Besides, we're wasting time just standing here." He took the paper from Alvin, and studied it some more. With a push of his finger, he moved his glasses back into their proper place and shook his head. "We're obviously not looking for a real halo, however; Alvin might have a point at checking out a church. Its quiet, dark…," he looked up to see if anyone agreed with him.

"And its better than nothing," Alvin agreed, snatching the paper back from the other boy. _Just who does he think he is? I'm the leader here!_ "We need to find out which church to look at."

"Do you even realize how big, Victorville even is, Alvin?" Simon snarled. "Just how many churches do you think there are here?"

Daniel answered with a sigh, the sound of a few sheets of paper ripping drawing the other boys' attentions. "Enough to keep us busy for a couple of hours," he said. He held up torn pieces of a phone directory. "They list the churches here, so I figure if we split up, and look through each of them, _if_ the halo _is_ in a church, one of us is bound to find it in an hour or so." He handed a few pages to each of the boys, and began walking off.

"We shouldn't go by ourselves, we'll go in teams," Alvin called, ignoring the startled gasp of Simon. _Perhaps he's finally realizing what a genius I am._ The red clad chipmunk giggled at the thought.

_That big blowhard's been holding out, wait tell Dave finds out how clever and reasonable he really is!_ Simon smirked as he looked at his older brother. He batted his head and sighed, "That really is a good idea. Alvin and I will take the northern part of the city, you guys can take the southern. We'll meet back here in two hours and see what happens.

With that agreed upon, Alvin and Simon turned and walked toward the northern areas of the city, while Daniel, Adam, and Theodore turned and hailed a cab, heading for the southern areas.

_________________________________

"What are we doing in a jewelry store?" Jeanette asked, looking around at the simmering gems of various colors nesting behind the glass. Golden watches, earrings, normal rings, bracelets of silver of all sizes illuminated the store as the lights of the store, as well as the sun, bounced off of them… like the white square of the game _Pong_.

"The clue says we should look for the ribbon of light in a place that's ablaze with light," Brittany said as she stared at a four thousand dollar necklace that seemed to beg her to buy it."

"And what better place, than a jewelry store," Marie added, stretching out her fingers to admire how a certain silver ring, with two ruby stones in it looked on her.

"And it never occurred to either of you, that it could be talking in riddles?" Eleanor asked. The two older girls only cooed at her, they're eyes' on prospective prizes. "Good grief, at this rate, our only hope in getting our item first, is that the boys' clue told them to go gold digging in the Mojave River." She looked for support from the other girls, but Jeanette was busy inching her way to the door, looking at the expensive trinkets and her own unsteady feet, hoping that she'd not knock down anything that they had no chance in heck to pay for. And Lisa just stood in silence, mouth a gap at the colors floating all around. Though not as greedy or jewel obsessed as the older girls, she still was awed by the scene. Eleanor sighed approached the counter, staring up at two hard, brown, disapproving eyes of a Middle Eastern woman. "Hello there," she said sweetly.

"_Ahlan_," the woman said, her voice as hard as her appearance. Though obviously from the Middle East, she did not have her face covered. Though she did wear bright blue robes around her body that hid her figure. Her face was pinched together, and wrinkles and crows feet lined her face and eyes. Her hair was ashen gray, and her teeth had a hint of gray to them as well. In truth, she might have been able to pass herself off as a Gypsy if she had wanted to. "Can I help you girls with something?" It was a demand, not a question.

Eleanor chuckled nervously, and sheepishly handed the woman the clue. "Does this mean anything to you, by any chance?"

The woman took the piece of paper, read it, and scanned the young girl's face. "This is a jewelry store, not some place for pranks, or buying 'Ad Libs' books, or the such." She thrust the paper back at the girl and sat down, glaring… almost as she was a female, Mafia godfather.

Brittany was quick to come to her sister's aide. "We were looking for something that is supposed to be like that," she said.

"It's a scavenger hunt," Jeanette added.

"You _do_ understand, that you are supposed to know exactly what you're looking for, in a scavenger hunt, _laa?_"

"Laa? No, she's Jeanette," Brittany snapped.

"Laa is the Arabic word, for no, Brittany," Jeanette pointed out politely.

"Yeah we know that, but the people who asked us to do this, wanted it to be a challenge," Lisa said, snapping out of her trance. She walked up to the counter with a smile that could blind God Himself, and blushed. "Baron Von Straugton and his wife…,"

The woman's hard face changed immediately. Her eyes flashed, and she tapped her teeth with a fingernail. "Baron… Eric Von Straugton?" The girls nodded.

"We figured this was the best place to look," Jeanette said.

"Well, at least they did," Eleanor said, nodding toward Brittany and Marie.

"Let me see that note again," the woman snapped. She read it, tapped her teeth again, the sound worse than scrapping nails on a blackboard, and looked up at the girls. "What you seek is not here, but you're not too far off. Three blocks down is a building with green on it. You'll find what you seek there… if your clever."

"Can't you at least tell us, which building?" Brittany asked. Her sisters' shrill voices, reprimanding her were drowned out only by their reprimanding Marie a second later when the human girl demanded to know which building.

The woman leaned back in her chair, staring at the girls, her shoulders stiffer than a mountain's peak. "_Laa, maah as-salaama_."

"She said…," Jeanette began.

"Its obvious what she said," Brittany said, storming out of the store. She stopped to look at a pretty blue jeweled ring, but continued as the woman rose to her feet, her face hard yet again.

_________________________________

"Three hours, and nothing," Alvin grumbled, leaning against his team's hot air balloon. The night was slowly taking the sky, darkness enveloping everything. "We never had this problem in our race around the world."

"We weren't dealing with riddles either," Simon pointed out. "At least we know Brittany and the other girls are still here too." He looked at the opposing team's balloon, resting just a few feet from their own.

"But for how much longer?" Alvin whined. He looked around, waiting for the other boys to return. "I thought we agreed that we were going to meet back here an hour ago."

Simon frowned, looking to see if they were approaching. "Do you think we should go look for them?"

"And have them come with whatever it is we're looking for, and wait for us?" He batted his head back and forth. "No way, the girls could come and take off. We'd lose our advantage."

"We don't have an advantage to lose," Simon snapped. They might have argued there longer, when Daniel came running up, sweat pouring down from his face. "What happened to you guys?"

"Theo is in trouble," he huffed. He swallowed a gasp of air and turned toward the southeast. "We didn't find anything in any church, but as darkness was coming, Theodore spotted something glimmering near the edge of that camp site. He lost his footing, and feel into a crack."

The two chipmunks gasped, and blinked, turning to the direction of where their friend was pointing. Without even asking the question, they raced at top speed and stopped to see Adam laying on his belly, one hand deep in the dirt, while another was being gripped by a bearded man, trying to help him keep his balance and not slide in himself.

"There was something shining in the crack, he tried to reach it, but he slipped," Adam called out to his friends as they approached.

"Stand back, boys," the man said, waving his left arm backward. "I don't need any other kids falling in here."

"But our brother," Simon protested.

"Your friend has a hold of him, at least I hope so," the man said, looking down at Adam." His green eyes shone with fear and desire. The pudgy young ten year old human boy grunted, groaned, and then nodded, a smile coming to his face.

"Hold on Theodore, I've got you, just stay still," Adam called.

There was a muffled sound, and then as air escaped, they could hear the youngest of the chipmunks cry out. "I see what it is, its some kind of necklace or something," he shouted with excitement. "I think it's the first item!" Adam snarled as his body wiggled further toward the crack, "Hold on, I think I can get it."

"Go for it, Theodore, get it, get it!" Alvin cried with excitement.

"His life is on the line, and you want him to grab a stupid necklace?" Simon croaked.

"If he doesn't the girls might get their's and we'll be stuck here," Alvin snapped.

"Go _amigo, _you can do it!" Daniel piped.

"If he keeps swinging like this, he'll take himself out, with me with him," Adam screamed, a crowd forming a circle around the situation. "Forget about it, Theodore, I'm going to try and pull you up. Just stay still."

"But its five million dollars," Alvin and Daniel cried out in despair. They blushed slightly as people began frowning and whispering. Not only were Alvin and the Chipmunks here, but apparently so too was something worth a good deal of money.

"What is wrong with you two?" Adam, Simon, and the man yipped, glaring at the two boys.

"Um, I'm confused, should I get it, or not?" Theodore whimpered in the dark. The necklace glowed right in front of his eyes, pleading to be pulled out, but he was losing his grip on Adam's hand… and it looked like a long way to fall. He only got more confused as two voices called out a resounding yes, while two other's called out a desperate no. Above him, he could hear arguing, and murmuring. Obviously the team wasn't on the same page, and he stay there, swinging like a pendulum. His stomach ached with hunger, and his arm ached with fire, and this was not the way he wanted to go. The medallion of the necklace was so pretty, kind of like a golden apple. His stomach grumbled harder, and the little chipmunk decided that if he was going to go, he'd go full. Or at least satisfied. Hunger won out, and the chipmunk swung his full body weight all the way to the left and then fully to the right.

Adam squealed with horror, as the momentum plunged him face first into the gapping hole. Now the man had a good grip on his waist, and was yanking him back to the surface, as were a few other hands. Adam bit his lips, and fought the urge to wiggle and laugh, as a tickling sensation ran across his midsection. With what strength he had, he pulled his friend's arm upward, and within a few seconds he heard a popping sound, and went flying across the field, landing on his back.

It only took a few minutes to realize he was out of the hole, as was Theodore, who was holding something very golden in his mouth, his jaw trying to bite down on it as hard as it could. Adam scowled, his anger wanting him to leap up, tear it from Theo's mouth, and straight back into the hole. In fact, despite the pain that flooded his body, he stood up to do just that, when he saw that Simon was moving to do the same thing.

"We'll lose our homes," he cried out, blinking as he didn't recognize the voice. The crowd looked at him, frowning. Simon stood motionless near the hole, the necklace, or rather a golden locket, in his hand. _From anger to reason in six seconds flat, wow, I wonder if that's a record._ There was no time to debate, there was no time to explain either. He hurried over to Simon and snatched the locket, accidentally opening it as he did. Baron Von Straugton and his wife's face greeted him with halfhearted smiles.

"What was that about?" Simon demanded.

"Don't forget what happens if we back out of this deal," Adam said sourly. Now he really could tell a crowd was forming, and in the distance not only were there the sounds of a police siren, but also a news van, it looked like. "If we don't want to get into trouble, we better scatter."

The other boys noticed the same thing, like lightning took off in opposite directions, right after thanking the man for his help. They ignored his calls for them to return, and his pounding footsteps as he chased after him. Adam was sure he'd get caught at least, being one of the slower boys, but somehow the man stopped halfway across the camp, and gave up the chase.

_________________________________

Both teams hit their balloons at exactly the same time. There was an unsure and unsteady pause between them, but it was obvious both teams had a golden locket in the possession. Behind the boys, the cries of the sirens grew louder, as more than one police car was now in pursuit and behind the girls a cry of a large mob on foot, but they didn't sound like they were of the helping kind.

Adam looked at his sister, who was soaked to the bone in what appeared to be some kind of slimy water. On closer inspection, it turned out to be poo water. "What were you doing swimming in the sewer?"

"What were you doing playing with the mud?" she shot back.

The police, and an angry mob of what looked like lower citizens were nearly upon them now. Both teams knew there wasn't much of a choice to make fun of the other team, nor even ask if they were okay. Right now it was leave, or get into trouble. Simon and Eleanor untied their baskets, and both balloons lifted off into the air. As the minutes speed by, the onlookers turned into ants, and soon, only the flash of the police lights were seen. Both balloons slowly drifted off into the distance, past Barstow, past Needles, slowly heading for the city of lights, Las Vegas.

_**Ziggy's Zone: New time, new end announcement name, you all are lucky. You get to be the first to witness that. Anyway, I wasn't very happy not writing the scene where the girls find their locket, and get into trouble, but as I writer, I know that some scenes need to be cut. You'll find out a little bit more during the balloon saga of the story, and do not worry, the girls will have more scenes, but of course that means some of the boys' scenes will be cut, so please be patient. Okay onto chapter two of the balloon saga, The Sheet of Tears. **_


	5. Sheet of tears

_**Ziggy's Corner: Chapter Five of the Adventure, Chapter Two of the Balloon Saga, The Sheet of Tears.**_

"It doesn't strike you odd that we were drafted into this contest, and that our first item to find was hidden so deep in the ground that one or more of us nearly died to get it?" Simon asked Alvin as they closed in on Las Vegas. The girls' balloon was no where in sight, but then again, it was really dark by the time they arrived near the city.

"Oh stop worrying so much, it was an accident," Alvin said, trying to decipher the next clue. "Besides, look where we are, Las Vegas!" He smiled looking at the flashing colors. Only Los Angeles and New York had lights like these, maybe with Chicago added to the mix.

"Wow, now if only one of us were eleven years older, we'd really have some fun," Daniel said. He was sitting far in the corner of the basket, his face hung low. The night seemed to take the boy, twist him into something else entirely. Daniel looked up at the other boys and sighed. "Didn't know we'd be coming here."

"What's wrong with this city?" Theodore asked. Daniel looked at him with soft eyes and shrugged.

"We should find some place to rest," Simon said, scanning the area as they landed near the outskirts of the city. "We don't have money to stay in an inn or a motel, and we can't sleep in a Casino without a parent."

"We're the chipmunks," Alvin snapped.

"But they're not," Simon pointed out, nodding toward Adam and Daniel. "And besides, don't you think that if we tried to check into a hotel, the press would be all over us?"

Adam yawned and cross his arms. "We barely made it out of Victorville without getting into trouble."

"So the only choice we have is to camp it out, and go incognito tomorrow," Simon said with a nod. He could tell Alvin wasn't happy about that, but was new about that? The boys got out of the balloon, and pulled out their sleeping bags, snuggling safe inside of them. Clouds drifted over the moon and stars, only leaving the lights of the city to light their beds.

They could hear the chimes of slot machines in the distance, as well as the roar of cars, and the thrill of many voices. "I miss my bed," Theodore said with a sad sigh.

"When we win, we'll be able to buy you ten thousand beds just like you have at home," Alvin said with a harsh tone. "Now lets get to sleep."

_________________________________

Brittany wasn't any more happy to lose time sleeping than Alvin was. The girls had landed just east of the boys, further in toward the city, and had managed to find a motel they could sleep in, hiding their balloon with leaves.

"Las Vegas, and we can't even enjoy it," she whimpered. She shifted her weight on the bed, tossing the covers around as she tried to get comfortable. "I was more relaxed in the balloon."

"Then we should have stayed there, instead of wasting our money," Eleanor snarled, staring up at her sister. "Really, we don't even know if someone will find it, and take it away, then what do we do?"

"You worry to much, Ellie," Marie said, snuggling in her soft covers. She'd only had a bed like this once, and it didn't last very long. That was when the family moved from Maryland, to Los Angeles three years earlier. At that time, Marie was afraid she'd never meet any new friends, or have any fun at all, until she learned she was going to the same school as the famous Chipmunks, and when she discovered a girl chipmunk band at the same school… she knew everything would turn out right.

The room was a light white color, with pictures of some famous movie stars, and celebrities. There were even some pictures of politicians who had stayed here too. There were five beds in the room, which was a large as the front of Marie's home. That gave each girl a bed for her own, and there was even a television, as well as a fridge. Unfortunately Eleanor insisted that no one touch the food in the fridge, for fear of losing even more money… and the television didn't have anything good on. There had been one movie the girls thought would be kind of interesting to watch, only to switch it off just as fast, because it turned out to be some kind of dirty picture. Marie smiled at their reaction… each girl leaping for the television set, eyes bug eyed, crying "ewwww" at the same time.

"You don't worry enough apparently," the chubby chipette said just as quickly. Her hands moved across her blonde hair as she brushed it, her two pig tails removed to let the blonde fibers flow down to her back.

"So Adam and the rest of my family keep telling me," Marie said with a smile. She picked up a soft, fluffy pillow, and tossed it at the other girl. Eleanor gasped, and glared at the other girl, who giggled. "Whatchya going to do about it?"

Eleanor turned to ignore Marie, but gasped again as another pillow smacked her in the back of her head. She turned, and in move of pure instinct, she tossed it back, smiling as it sent Marie spiraling down off her bed with a big thud. When Marie picked herself up, a pillow in hand to fight back, she was startled to see not one pillow coming at her, but four.

For the rest of that night, the sounds of high pitched giggling, and squealing as well as a few thumps and light groans of pain floated from their room. From pillow fights, to popcorn fights, to tickle fights, it continued with the click of each minute. It wasn't until around two in the morning when the girls finally went to bed, and only then it was by complaint of their neighbors.

_________________________________

It was ten in the morning when the boys made their way into the city, covering their appearance with sunglasses and hats, hoping to get away from unwanted attention. Slowly they made their way to the center of the town, and huddled in a nearly perfect circle, studying the clue Alvin was holding in his hands.

"The well of tone lead you closer to the mark you seek. Find the right key, and the page of tears will be found." Alvin scratched his head, and looked at his team. "So what does that mean?"

"Hmmm," Simon looked at the paper, "the well of tone, the mark you seek, the right key and the page of tears."

"It sounds like a musical clue. I bet we're looking for some kind of music store, or museum or something." Daniel said, his eyes never leaving the paper. In fact it never moved from it, it was as if he refused to look up at the city at all.

"Or a auditorium where music is being taught," Simon acknowledged. "The problem is, what kind of music are we looking for?"

"We could be here for a couple of days," Adam said. "I don't think its even wise to try and split up here. There are too many people, the city is too large." The boys agreed, but could not agree on how to go about searching for the item. "It said we're looking for a page of tears, page in music is sheet."

"So sheet music?" Theodore asked. "Maybe that's what we need to look for?"

"But we still don't know what kind of sheet music, which instrument. And what's the tears part?" Alvin asked, staring at the paper. "Sad music?"

"Sad… a drama," Daniel said. He stopped walking and jumped as if shot by a needle up his back. "A drama, the theater, I think I know where we need to go!" He smiled briefly, but became sullen again. "But maybe I should just stay out of it."

"Are you kidding?! First you say you know where we need to go, then don't want to go there?" Alvin cried, shaking the other boy's shoulders.

"Alvin, calm down," Simon snapped, pulling his older brother off of the boy. "Can't you see he doesn't want to talk about it?"

"So what?" Alvin roared. "He hasn't wanted to talk about anything since we got here, why should we waste time because he wants to be all dark and depressing?"

Daniel pulled away, scowling at the younger boy. "Excuse me, I didn't know I was such bad company, maybe I shouldn't have agreed to go. Maybe I should just tell my godfather I tricked him, into meeting with your babysitter, and that we got ourselves messed up in loopholes?" He turned and stormed off, Simon and Theodore catching up with him. "Go away, and leave me alone," he said, his eyes full of tears.

"Look, you know Alvin," Simon said, putting a hand on the older boy's shoulder. "He talks too much and has one too many ideas of getting fame and riches without much work. But he didn't mean to hurt you."

"Yeah, and we can't do this without you," Theodore said. "You've been a big help in these last two clues."

Daniel smiled and looked at the two chipmunks, Simon wearing a dark blue poncho with a baseball cap shading his face from public view, and dark blue sunglasses over his face. Theodore wore a light green jacket, with a few metal studs on the collar. His pants were just as green, and we down just below his knees, making them more of short pants than true pants. "Thank you both. Its just that… well… bad things happened here for my family." He lowered his eyes, "I just don't like talking about it."

"Understandable," Simon said with a nod.

"I think what we're looking for is in a certain museum in one of the casinos, on the Strip. My parents worked there, so did my grandparents. I know it pretty well, and we still have a _few_ friends there, I might be able to get us in." Daniel smiled and sucked up the tears, playfully giving each chipmunk a punch in the shoulder. "Let's get to work."

________________________________

The girls found a seat in the theater in Circus Circus, and sat down, ready for the music to play. Lisa had her camera ready, holding it downward toward the center stage, as they sat just a few aisles from the conductor. It wasn't easy to see the music, but it wasn't hard either. The difficult part was trying to stay awake to take the picture. "Remind me never to get into any kind of silly fights with you guys again for a long, long time," she said with a big yawn. "I need my eight hours of sleep."

"Only eight? I figured you'd need fifteen," Brittany quipped with a smirk on her face. The other girl looked up, hurt a little and sighed with a shrug, making the female chipmunk feel a little guilty. She had had fun last night, more fun than she thought she would have, defiantly more fun than she'd had in a long time. She loved her sisters, but it was very pleasant having more girls their age to hang out with. "Sorry, I'm a little cranky."

"All the more reason we need to stop staying awake for so long," Eleanor said, scanning the medium sized room. The lights were dimming, and she felt a little trapped.

"You're just mad because you had to pick popcorn out of your hair for about an hour this morning," Marie said with a laugh.

"And whose fault is that?" Eleanor asked.

"That was payback for the pillow fight," Brittany said.

"Sure, payback the girl for something she didn't even start," Eleanor said with a sigh.

"Quiet you guys, its starting," Jeanette hissed, putting her finger to her lips. The young bookworm smiled widely, leaning forward with hungry intent, ready for the music to take her to worlds only she could dream of. She'd nearly jumped out of her skin when she figured out the clue, which told them a picture of a famous dramatic piece was what they sought. And being located in a casino like this, where it wasn't odd for children to be walking around, it didn't draw too much attention to the five girls.

The music began playing, and people ohhhed and ahhhed as the lights danced to the beat, as if hypnotized by the wave of the conductor's arms, and the excelling music. The girls likewise were just as hypnotized, listing to glorious throngs, adventurous beats, and sorrowful clashes of the cymbals and brass section. As the sorrowful piece nearly ended, Lisa jumped, placed the camera to her eyes, and snapped a quick shot at the page that had just been turned. The girls leapt with joy, hugging each other, and settled down quickly as people murmured for them to sit down and shut up.

"You kids have parents?" a man asked, raising an eye as he noticed that five chairs were taken up only by children. He scratched his chin and crossed his arms as the girls looked at him.

"Of course we do," Brittany snapped. "We didn't just drop from the sky, or were sand sculptures magically brought to life." The girls giggled at that, but the man didn't seem very happy. "They paid our way in."

"Really? That's odd, I didn't think children would be let in to these areas without parents. Tell me, where exactly are they?"

"None of your business," Marie snapped. "The head of security of the casino told them they could let us come in here by ourselves."

The man smirked, tapping his foot. "Really, I don't remember telling anyone that they're children are allowed in here without them."

There was shock, as people began whispering, and the conflict caught the attention of the conductor, who stopped the concert half way through the last act. Eyes focused on the girls, and the children huddled together, not sure what to do. The man's patience ended, and reached for Brittany's arm, yanking her to her feet, and began to reach for Lisa, stopping as the chipette opened her mouth as wide as she could, and clamped down on the man's hand hard. Her teeth pierced his hand easy, and sank into his flesh. She fought the urge to gag, as blood flooded into her mouth, sliding down her throat.

The man yelped in anger and pain, pulling his hand away, nearly taking a tooth with him. The girls didn't waste anytime after that, they screamed and darted in opposite directions, Lisa even crying that the man had tried to touch them, or threatened to do so. People gasped and darted around in the chaos, trying to figure out what was going on. Brittany whimpered, as she tugged her teeth free, and speed away from the auditorium. Once she managed to make it out, she was startled to see a huge collection of security rushing toward her. It was only worse when she realized she couldn't find her sisters or her friends either.

________________________________

Daniel stop up from the piano, as a secret compartment opened up, as he played the right keys to a certain piece. Around him, not a dry eye could be seen as people softly applauded the boy, and whispered about his heritage… about who he was. The young eleven year old snatched a lonely piece of paper from the compartment, closing the small door just as fast as it had opened. He smiled sadly, and bowed, just as his grandfather had done at his last concert, and rejoined the other boys. "Well, I got it."

"How can we be sure that, that's what we're looking for?" Alvin asked, examining the ancient page. It was shorter than any sheet music he had seen, and it was a light brown, with a few pieces of yellow.

"Secret compartment, in a long forgotten piano, an obviously old piece of sheet music, gee I wonder," Simon sighed, rolling his eyes. He turned to Daniel and smiled, "Good work by the way, I'm surprised though… I never knew you could play the piano."

"Runs in the family," the boy said, taking the page and gently placing it in a thin plastic bag. "You're not the only musical family at our school." He turned and nodded at the curator. "_Grazie mille," _he said with a thin smile.

The old man copied the smile, his dark gray eyes shining in the dark light. He gently put a hand on the boy's shoulder and nodded. "It was the least I could do… considering," his eyes darted away as if they had minds of their own, and did not want to remember something painful.

The boys made their way out of the museum, and then out of the casino, pulling Alvin away from the soft chimes and the laughter as chips separated from hands. "It's overrated," Daniel said, picking up his pace as the boys left the casino. They moved swiftly away from the main part of the city, and soon arrived at their balloon. "You think we should see if the girls are okay?"

"We should have tried to land closer to them," Simon said.

"Unfortunately it couldn't be helped," Adam said. "We landed here when it was dark, so we can only hope that they're okay."

"Some brother you are," Daniel said with a sly smirk, his spirits beginning to lift, as they loaded their balloon.

"She thought she knew what she was getting herself into, lets see if she really does," Adam quipped. He leapt into the balloon, and took a package from Simon, before sitting down. "They could already be gone, or…," he thought, "or we'll see if they're at the next stop."

"Exactly," Alvin said as he leapt into the balloon. Theodore went next, then Daniel, finally Simon. "Look, we didn't worry all that much last time we did something like this…,"

"Which is exactly why we should worry now," Simon said, scanning the horizon. "I still think this is all just too coincidental."

"You worry much too much," Daniel and Alvin said in unison.

"No one got hurt this time," Theodore said. "So maybe it was just an accident."

"Maybe," Simon said. "But I'm not leaving anything to chance. He opened the package, and began playing with switches.

"What is that thing?" Alvin asked.

"It's called… a radio," Simon grumbled. The black device was rectangular in shape, with silver buttons, and a green blue screen. "You use it to listen to transmitter waves in the air to get music and news."

"Why do we need that? Where did it come from?" Alvin snapped, putting his foot down. Daniel kept an eye on things as he pulled up one of the last sand bags holding down the balloon.

"We got it in the casino, while Daniel was working on getting us into the museum," Adam said.

Simon switched it on, and the local station was on a live news report of three humanoid, female chipmunks, along with two young human girls on the run from authorities. It told the boys that the whole mess happened in the very same casino they'd been in not more than forty minutes ago, and that the girls now seemed to be boarding a hot air balloon, which was lifting off very fast. "As to _why_ we need it, that should answer anyone's question. We know they're safe, so we should have no problem lifting off ourselves." The bags were lifted, and slowly the boys' balloon rose from its spot, toward Denver, Colorado.

**______________________________**

_**Ziggy's Zone: This one was longer in the original draft, but I had to cut scenes, a page in a half, in fact. I thought keeping them would help add to the mystery, but they slowed down the action… and actually one revealed a little too much for this point of the tale. Anyway, the third chapter of the Balloon Saga, the Presidential Portrait is up next, in Chapter 6 of Scavenger Hunt.**_


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